Stamp duty is usually the largest single cost of buying a property after the price itself, and it is the one buyers most often leave out of their sums until the solicitor asks for it. Here is where the numbers stand in 2026 for England and Northern Ireland. Scotland uses Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Wales uses Land Transaction Tax, both with different thresholds.
The standard bands
The nil rate threshold returned to £125,000 on 1 April 2025. Stamp duty is banded, so each slice of the price is taxed at its own rate rather than the whole price at one rate.
Portion of the price Rate Up to £125,000 0% £125,001 to £250,000 2% £250,001 to £925,000 5% £925,001 to £1,500,000 10% Above £1,500,000 12%
First time buyers pay nothing up to £300,000 and 5% on the portion between £300,001 and £500,000. Above £500,000 the relief disappears entirely and standard rates apply to the whole price.
The additional property surcharge
If you will own more than one residential property at the end of the day you complete, you pay an extra 5% on top of every band. This rose from 3% on 31 October 2024. It applies to buy to lets, second homes, holiday homes and project houses you intend to sell on. It bites from £40,000, so almost every purchase an investor makes.
That gives this effective set of rates:
Portion of the price Rate on an additional property Up to £125,000 5% £125,001 to £250,000 7% £250,001 to £925,000 10% £925,001 to £1,500,000 15% Above £1,500,000 17%
Non UK residents add a further 2% on top of everything else.
Five worked examples
A £75,000 terrace bought as a project, and you own your own home. 5% of £75,000 is £3,750. Nothing under the standard bands, all of it surcharge.
A £180,000 buy to let. 5% on the first £125,000 is £6,250, then 7% on the remaining £55,000 is £3,850. Total £10,100.
A £300,000 second home. £6,250, plus £8,750 on the slice to £250,000, plus £5,000 on the last £50,000. Total £20,000.
A £39,000 flat at auction, and you already own property. Under the £40,000 threshold, so no surcharge and nothing under the standard bands. £0.
A £280,000 first home for a genuine first time buyer. £0. Every named buyer has to have never owned residential property anywhere in the world.
Two rules worth knowing before you buy more than one
Multiple Dwellings Relief was abolished on 1 June 2024. Before that, buying several flats in a single transaction let you calculate stamp duty on the average price per dwelling. That is gone, so a block bought in one go is now taxed on the full combined price. It materially changes the maths on small portfolios compared with a couple of years ago.
Buying six or more dwellings in a single transaction can still be treated as a non residential purchase, which is taxed on a different and generally lower scale. It is a real planning point on a block, and one to put to your solicitor before you exchange rather than after.
Companies buying a single dwelling above £500,000 face a flat 15% rate, though most property rental companies qualify for relief from it and use the standard rates plus the surcharge instead, which is cheaper.
Where it lands in your deal
Stamp duty is a buying cost, which means it comes out of your maximum purchase price rather than out of your profit. On a £75,000 project house, £3,750 of stamp duty is roughly a tenth of a typical refurbishment budget. Leave it out of the calculation and you have quietly given away that much margin.
Bricks 'N' Mortar puts stamp duty into the sum automatically at the correct rate for your circumstances, along with refurbishment, fees and finance, and shows you the most you can pay as a result.
This is general information, not tax advice. Stamp duty rules change and individual circumstances vary. Confirm your figure with your solicitor before you exchange.